Taxes!

Purdy on 2002-03-05T15:06:10

Usually, that's a sore subject, as I typically end up on the short end of the stick (ok, autarch, here's something we can agree on - taxes suck ;)). However, I had a huge capital loss & lots of itemized deductions this year (err, last year) and instead of oweing a lot like I was expecting, I only ended up oweing $93 (which isn't much when you're expecting over $3,000). Good times.

So that means more money to help with the new house situation (buying a fence and paying for movers), as well as a celebratory bottle of champagne. Some Dom or Brut might be in order... ;)

We went to a sushi restaurant to celebrate and I ordered Eel for the first time and on the second roll, I came across some bones (is that typical for Eel?). I didn't know what to do, so I charade'd to my wife to fetch a paper napkin to dispose of the product. Didn't want any bones messin' w/ my insides. ;)

Oh, and I'm getting a refund from the state government for $68 (which I find odd, especially when our state is looking at a $1.2 Billion {that's with a 'b'} deficit). Oh well - I used a CPA (accountant) this year again to make sure all the i's were dotted & t's crossed. He's got my back if anything is off. :)

Jason

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Agree?

autarch on 2002-03-05T16:11:03

No way, you goddamn ...

Oh wait, yes, I agree. Actually, I wouldn't mind paying taxes if they didn't seem to mostly end up going to kill people in far away countries.

And here's my tax story. In year 2000, I spent most of the year working as a consultant. I didn't bother paying _any_ taxes on that income. So when I finally did get around to getting an accountant (sometine in May 2001), I owed $13,000 to the feds and some large (but smaller) amount ot the state.

Yeehaw!

That was fun.

Re:Agree?

lachoy on 2002-03-05T16:18:35

I'm surprised they didn't hammer you with late fees for not paying estimated taxes during that time. I'm kind of in the same boat, but I only did consulting work FT for about 5 months out of the year. The fact that you didn't get nailed gives me hope :-)

Re:Agree?

autarch on 2002-03-05T16:58:45

It's quite weird. My accountant said that what he usually does is simply have the client (me, in this case) pay the amount owed without late fees, and then let the IRS calculate fees. He said that if the IRS calculates lower than he would, that's good, and if it's higher they can fight it.

But that was about 9 months ago and I _still_ haven't gotten anything from the IRS about late fees. Weird.

Re:Agree?

Purdy on 2002-03-05T17:09:23

<joke>
We'll have to make sure the gov't doesn't see your posts on Patriotism and "discover" some missing taxes and lay on the penalties/interest. *grin*
</joke>

Jason

ssshhhhh!

autarch on 2002-03-05T20:36:27

Doh!